1. Technical Field
Example embodiments relate to the production and extraction of radioisotopes from a source compound.
2. Description of the Related Art
Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals may be radiolabeled molecules used for delivering therapeutic doses of ionizing radiation with relatively high specificity to certain disease sites (e.g., cancerous tumors) in a patient's body. Additionally, recent research has been directed to the radiolabeling of monoclonal antibodies to evaluate the efficacy of radioimmunotherapy. A number of different radioisotopes have been used for these purposes, including α, β, and auger electron emitters.
For those applications including site-specific therapy, it may be beneficial to use radiopharmaceuticals exhibiting higher specific activities. However, the presence of “cold” labeled antibodies may decrease the number of “hot” labeled antibodies that occupy the binding sites on the target cells. Consequently, reduced numbers of “hot” labeled antibodies may result in lower doses of ionizing radiation to the target cells, thus decreasing or impeding the ability of the treatment to induce the desired cell kill. Accordingly, higher specific radioactivity (SA) compounds may be beneficial to reduce the impact of “cold” labeled antibodies.
186Re has been investigated as a candidate for radiotherapy, because 186Re decays by β− emissions and has a half-life of about 3.7 days. Additionally, 186Re exhibits a chemical similarity to 99mTc, a radioisotope that has already been extensively studied and used in a variety of medical applications. 186Re may be produced in reactors via an 186Re(n, γ)186Re reaction. Although radioimmunotherapy using 186Re has been successfully performed, higher SA 186Re compounds remain relatively difficult to obtain.